East Ukraine people cannot move to refugee compound because of incessant artillery attacks

January 29, 2015, 16:58 UTC+3DONETSKMany people remain in Gorlovka due to heavy shelling, Tatyana Studennikova, commandant of a refugee camp for resettled people, based in the settlement of Khartsyzsk, says

DONETSK, January 29. /TASS/. "The population in the town of Gorlovka in the Donetsk region cannot get out of the town because it has been incessantly shelled by the Ukrainian artillery; organized exodus of peaceful population has not been ensured," Tatyana Studennikova — commandant of a refugee camp for resettled people, based in the settlement of Khartsyzsk, told TASS on Thursday.

"On Thursday, a woman has arrived with a child on her hands, following two pensioners who came on Monday. Four more refugees from Gorlovka have managed to go as far as the settlement of Zugres, where they have been staying now. There are no new newcomers," Studennikova said.

"Many people remain in Gorlovka because they are unable to get out because of incessant shelling. There is no one to help them out there either because it is technically impossible or because of heavy shelling. Earlier, people had been evacuated from Slavyansk and Ilovaisk even despite continuing artillery shelling," Novorossiya Press Center quoted Studennikova as saying.

Most of the people staying at the Khartsyzsk refugee compound are women, their children and old people — two hundred people all in all, Studennikova said. Food, medications and other necessities have been provided thanks to the assistance of volunteers and charity funds, she said.

The administration of the refugee compound in the settlement of Khartsyzsk has been waiting for refugees from Gorlovka to arrive for more than ten days. "Very few people from Gorlovka have arrived; the town is small, but people cannot even go out because the town has been incessantly shelled," Ambassador for human rights of the Donetsk People's Republic Darya Morozova said earlier.

Earlier on Thursday Chairman of the OSCE special monitoring mission Michael Botsyurkiv said that OSCE would press ahead for a local ceasefire to ensure conditions for safe exodus of peaceful civilians from the hazardous zone.